 The European Commission said Tuesday it was studying a French request to speed up procedures that could allow the European Union to impose import quotas on Chinese textile products. EU trade ministers on Monday endorsed a full investigation into allegations that cheap textiles and clothing from China were flooding the EU market.
| Exporting French arms and nuclear technology to China = Good. Importing Chinese clothing into France = Bad. |
However they disagreed on quick action to block the imports, with France taking a lead in seeking "emergency measures." The written request from France calls for the EU to speed up the investigation process and start formal consultations with China on the issue. "We'll examine how we might be able to speed things up," said Claude Veron-Reville, trade spokeswoman at the EU's head office. "We'll endeavor to accelerate the inquiry period as much as possible."
The 25 EU nations are divided down the middle over whether to re-impose textile quotas lifted at the start of the year under a World Trade Organization agreement. Textile producers such as France, Italy and Portugal say safeguard measures are needed to protect the local industry from surging Chinese imports. Britain, Sweden and others are concerned new restrictions on imports will hit clothing retailers hard. The French request is for the EU to scrap an initial two-month phase of its investigation which involves informal consultations with the Chinese. It wants EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to quickly start formal talks with the Chinese. Under WTO rules, these can take up to 90 days. But if Europe deems China is not helping to solve the issue and risks causing irreparable damage to the European industry, it can hoist emergency trade barriers within 15 days. Such a move would need backing for EU nations under the bloc's complex voting system, which gives countries a weighted vote depending on the size of their populations. |